Improvement in railroad-frogs



UNITED STATES THOMAS E. VIGKERS, OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-FROGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 180,395, dated July25, 1876; application filed a August 5, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS E. VICKERS, ofSheffield, England, have invented certain 1mprovements in theManufacture of Railway- Frogs, of which the following is aspecification:

This invention relates to the method or manner of making railway-frogs,crossings, &c.

It is well known that railway-frogs have been-formed complete of onepiece of metal,

I both by casting and forging, and they have also been built up ofseparate parts, as portions of the" rails, and fastened together byclamps and bolts, with stay'blocks or distancepieces between the parts,to preserve the proper relative position of the tracks; but to all theseforms or methods of construction there are objections-as, for example,when thefrogs are cast in one piece, the metal, even if steel be used,is not so good as when wrought, and therefore the center or point willmuch sooner be destroyed than when wrought, and the whole frog willthereby become useless. This trouble has in some instances attempted tobe avoided by placing a wrought-steel point in or upon a cast-iron frog,and fastening it by rivets, which are liable to work loose, and permitsaid points to be knocked out of place. Then, if the entire frog beformed of Wrought metal, either of iron or steel, the cost is verygreat, and a great amount of the metal is only used for the purpose ofholding the center'or point and the wings in proper working position.Then, again, if the frog be built up of the several parts, unitedtogether by clamps and bolts,-they require constant attention to 5 keepthem in proper working order, as the several parts are always workingloose. To, overcome all these objections is the objectof the presentinvention; and it consists, first, in forming the center or point of thefrog of wrought-steel or other suitable metal, and,

thenmaking the feathers, or spacing-ribs, or distance-pieces of castmetal, and uniting the same to the center or point by casting, as willhereafter appear; second, the invention also consists in'making thewings of the frog of some wrought metal, as steel or iron, and thenuniting the same to the center or point by casting a metal between them,as will hereafter appear.

Figure 1 is a plan of a center or point of a railway-frog, with itsfeathers or distancepiecesvattached. Fig. 2 is a transverse section ofthe same through the line a b. Fig. 3 is a plan of the frog complete, orwith the point and wings combined. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of thesame through the line 0d. At A is represented the center or point of thefrog, which is preferably made of steel, well Wrought, so that the metalmay be as nearly perfect as possible, and upon its opposite verticalsides grooves or channels are formed, to correspond to the sides of therail, so that fish-plates may be used, if desired.

Holes may also be formed through the web of said point, through whichthe cast metal may run, to serve as bolts, to assist in holding theparts together more tirmly, if required. A flask or mold of the propershape to form the feathers or distance-ribs, as at B, Fig. 1, is thenprovided, and a hole is left in the end of said mold, into which thewrought steel or metal point may be inserted, and held in the properposition to receive the cast metal there on, and when the cast metal isready to be formed the steel or wrought-metal point is heated to a fullred or white heat, and is quickly inserted into said flask, and thecast-iron poured upon it, by which means the two are firmly unitedtogether and of the proper form to receive the wings, which may then beformed of pieces of rails and fastened by screw-bolts, as represented inthe drawings at G and D, Figs. 3 and 4- f Another method of attachingthe wings-to\ the frog is to form holes through them, as alreadymentioned, for the center or point, and then to beat them at the sametime'that the center is heated, and insert them in a properly-shapedmold, and cast the metal between them and the center or point at thesame time, 5 and thereby unite the three parts firmly together, Withoutthe aid of clamps or bolts, and f in the proper relative position toeach other, ready to belaid in the track.

It isevident that instead of the channels or grooves in the sides of thecenter or point, ribs or projections may be formed thereon, to serve asa rough surface for assisting in holding the cast metal thereon; but theform shown in the drawings will answer as well, and will be cheaper, asthe wrought-steel is the more costly of the two metals used. It is alsoevident that such a method of construction is applicable to crossings,and in switches provided with points or feathers as we'll as frogs, andI do not Wish to he therefore limited to the peculiar form here shown 5but I claim-- 1. In arailway frog, switch, or crossing, the combinationof a Wrought-metal center or point with cast-metal feathers or distanceribs, when united together by casting, as described.

2. In a railway-frog, the combination of wrought-metal Wings with awrought-metal point, cast-metal feathers or distance-ribs, when the sameare united by the process of casting, as described.

T. EDWARD VIOKERS.

- Witnesses:

'l. T. HIBBERT, JOHN SWIFT.

